Where to Shop in Montreal
Here in Montreal, it’s easy to find the ingredients to make great Japanese home cooking. But it helps to know where to look.
Four addresses you definitely need to know are:
- Sami Fruits
Sami is a funny place: every immigrant in Montreal seems to go there, but few Canadian people make the trip. The place sells an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables from all over the world. Here you can find your goya (bitter melon), your taro (japanese potatoes), your sasage (yardlong beans) and your daikon (Japanese radish) any time you like. The variety here is amazing: they even have “Salade Nappa”: Japanese style hakusai – which is very nearly (but not quite) the same as Chinese cabbage. Amazing! Prices are very reasonable.
They have a few locations around town. We usually go to the store just off Jarry on 19th Ave. But they have another location in La Salle. They’re closed on Tuesdays.
- Épicerie Coréenne et Japonaise on Ste. Catherine West
This little store on Ste. Catherine Street, just two blocks east of the Forum is the place to go for your basic Japanese ingredients. Miso, sake, dashi, okonomiyaki sauce, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, konyaku. All the basics are there, though they don’t always have the more exotic ingredients. Prices are ok, though not exactly low. The friendly Korean owners will do what they can to help you find what you’re looking for in English or French.
- Marché d’Alimentation Coréenne et Japonaise on Sherbrooke, in NDG
This Korean-run store on 6151 Sherbrooke West has a wider selection of exotic Japanese ingredients than the competition on Sainte Catherine. They go well beyond the basics and into ingredients Japanese people surely miss from home. To my amazement, I found Sake Kasu here, which is the leftover residue from making Sake, and a cherished culinary treat from home I never thought I’d find abroad.
Prices are lower than in Épicerie Coréene et Japonaise, but the place isn’t as clean. The store is really more aimed at Korean shoppers, so if you don’t speak Korean you may not get very much help from the staff. Still, considering the prices and variety, this is an excellent address to keep in mind.
View these four addresses on a Google map.
Hi Kanako,
I found a website for a place called Miyamoto Foods on 382 Victoria Ave. http://www.sushilinks.com/miyamoto/index.html
Does Miyamoto still exist? Is it a good store? I live in Ottawa, and would make a trip to shop once in a while! We have a few decent places in Ottawa, but no store that sells only Japanese items.
BTW, I just found your site and it’s great!
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike!
Glad you like the blog. We’ve been to Miyamoto, and we were not really impressed. Prices are MUCH higher than at either of the Japanese-Korean stores, and the selection is not really better. The only reason I can see for going there is if you’re Japanese and need Japanese-speaking staff, or if you live very near-by (for convenience.) But the Korean-run shop on Sherbrooke West (in NDG) really isn’t that far away, has more variety on offer, and costs a third as much. What’s the point of Miyamoto, then?!
(Kanako’s husband reporting.)
Thanks for the reply! It’s really too bad that they are pricing themselves out of competition as compared to the other shops. I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Similarly in Ottawa, the Korean-Japanese stores do a pretty good job of maintaining accessible pricing and a decent selection.
We had a Japanese store on Slater Street, Kaedaya Mart, but it didn’t have a lot of items and prices weren’t cheap there either. Unfortunately it closed down over a year ago.
I have to wonder aloud what the difference is between stores run by Japanese owners and others. The products can only get into Canada in a limited number of ways, so can the wholesale price really be so different? I understand that Japanese people are strongly concerned about food quality and safety (hence the delicious food!) So perhaps owners expect that Japanese customers will pay more for products that are assumed to be exported directly from Japan, and are possibly more fresh? I’d love to know their business plans.
I think it’s still worth a trip to practice my Japanese, but I’ll look at the other stores that were suggested as well. ありがとうございました！
Mike
It’s a little mystifying. One thing’s for sure, though: EVERYTHING in Westmount costs 3 times as much as in NDG, so maybe it’s not such a big mystery after all!
There’s another Korean store in NDG that’s comparable to the two others mentioned here in both selection and price. It’s called Ja Mae, and the address is 2116 Décarie (just south of Sherbrooke).
Nice! Will have to check it out…
Hi, Kanako san. Hajime mashite..
If you can find some substitute ingredients, please let us know on this website.
It is nice to know that somebody doing this and introduce Japanese cooking. And I envy you that you have some store in Montreal. It is difficult to buy some Japanese ingredients for me in my town but I try to use substitute stuff and make Japanese food. It is hard sometimes. However, if you want to eat some Japanese, you have to cook it. So my cooking skill is getting better I think.
Hey guys
i know a good Korean/Japanese Store (it’s for clothing,makeup,Jewelry ect) it’s called ViewShop :3 i don,t know the exact adress but it’s on St.Catherine street 
go check on google.It worth it!
I just found your site via CHOW-Tofu-Menuism Blog. I’m delighted to find a Japanese source-cook-Montreal-based! Getting your insights about local addresses made my day!
I would like to add two addresses, for the south shore folks:
the big Kim Phat at 7209 boul. Tachereau, Brossard,
and also
the small Marché Long Phat around 1325, boul Curé-Poirier O. Longueuil, near Taschereau.
I am a regular at Marché Long Phat, and there I find almost anything I usually need (from fresh produce to green tea en leaves, bonito shavings, Kewpie, miso, kitchenware, etc.), except Okonomiyaki flour and Okonomiyaki sauce. But those I found at the big Kim Phat. This big grocery store has so many things, some so new to me that I can’t compare prices and quality yet. I was amazed to see that they have 1 meats freezer for (about) 4 fishes/seafood freezers! I keep it as a very good address for diversity, and trying new things, like their fresh galanga root, the frozen eel (with sauce) and their assorted stuffed buns.
Hi Louise,
thank you very much for the adresses! I’ve been to the big Kim Phat in Borssard, but I didn’t know the Marché Long Phat. I’ll check it, too.